CORA'S ARROGANT, SELFISH ACT TAINTED THE GAME OF BASEBALL IN THE PROCESS

Alex Cora should never be allowed to step on a baseball field again... at any level... ever.  The Red Sox know this. That's why they and he parted ways.  WEEI writes this:

"On Tuesday night, the Red Sox put out a statement saying the organization and Cora have mutually parted ways following MLB's investigation into the Astros' sign stealing scheme. 

On Tuesday, Astros manager A.J. Hinch was suspended a year and then fired along with GM Jeff Luhnow. 'Today we met to discuss the Commissioner’s report related to the Houston Astros investigation,' the Red Sox said in a statement. 

'Given the findings and the Commissioner’s ruling, we collectively decided that it would not be possible for Alex to effectively lead the club going forward and we mutually agreed to part ways. 'This is a sad day for us. Alex is a special person and a beloved member of the Red Sox. We are grateful for his impact on our franchise. We will miss his passion, his energy and his significant contributions to the communities of New England and Puerto Rico.'...

The Red Sox will hold a press conference Wednesday."

The Red Sox are trying to get ahead of it.  Sad. Don't forget, they were investigated for stealing signs in 2017 when John Farrell was at the helm, but they are also getting investigated for stealing signs in 2018... you know, when Alex Cora, the former bench coach of the Astros showed up to manage and to teach new, better ways of cheating using technology in Beantown. In other words, he not only tainted the team, he tainted the game. He struck twice.

Pete Rose didn't taint the game. Pete Rose bet on baseball and tainted himself. But everyone in baseball knows he played the game better than many in history.  Looking at all this garbage around us these few days... it's now crystal clear to me that Pete Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He did his time. We have a new loser in town... and his name is Alex Cora.

My 17 year old was pretty vocal about Alex Cora tonight. Don't forget, this kid has been watching baseball for a long time, even playing it himself.  He was pretty up front about it tonight...

"You know, Cora just got smug as he took manager for the Red Sox. He was likable before he got there, but it was almost like he knew he was getting away with something. Now that we know he's a crooked guy, it's one of those things where he just tarnished his reputation. He'll never recover."

That's a smart kid.  Reputation is huge and he's right, Alex Cora is done.  Sure, his close friends will never leave his side, but this guy is a piece of trash and he not only led the Red Sox down a bad road, he led the Astros down a dark tunnel as well... a tunnel with a TV featuring a live feed of the game and a trash can of course.

Alex Cora helped taint two teams and these fucking morons followed him... thinking they could get away with using strategic technology to steal signs and win a championship each.  Sure, I guess you can look at Alex Cora and suggest he's the smartest guy in the room. But I look at him and suggest that if he's a regular guy... he's going to jail for a long time.  Regular folks who cheat get in a ton of trouble.  Instead, the ridiculous Red Sox organization, knowing good and well that they would look bad in the Cora situation, decided that if they "parted ways", Cora doesn't look as bad, and the Red Sox can separate themselves from embarrassment.

But here's the thing. THIS IS NOT OVER and fans do not forget. And that's my favorite part of this.  Rob Manfred, who I have never been a huge fan of, did something historic for baseball with the Astros and Hinch yesterday, and will hopefully do something so big to Alex Cora, that it will be media worthy, a life lesson for millions and a noble attempt to save the game of baseball once and for all. Rob Manfred needs to ban Alex Cora for life from the game of baseball.  For Alex Cora has tainted the game. He brought dozens down with him to win... something destructive and selfish. Oh yea... and also wrong and against the rules.

No one, and I mean NO ONE can defend this behavior of Hinch and Cora. I mean, Roy Oswalt tried, but it fell flat just like it did for Logan "Moron" Morrison.

So let me get this right. You steal signs and get fired, but you do steroids and get millions of dollars in contracts and inducted into the Hall of Fame? #makesnosense

— Roy Oswalt (@royoswalt44net) January 13, 2020

Roy then tried to clear it up:

So let’s clear this up. I never said it was right to steal signs. But getting fired is a little harsh when you did nothing about the other.

— Roy Oswalt (@royoswalt44net) January 14, 2020

Didn't work, he looks like a fool.  You can't be Mr. Astro and try to defend a team that is in hot water so badly, you think you can make a difference on Twitter. Oswalt tried, he failed.  Morrison tried, he just looks like a freaking tool in the process because he's irrelevant.

You know who's opinion matters?  It's not players, it's not broadcasters or sports writers... it's the fans...US FANS!

Fans pay big money to go to games. Fans want to see wins and loses fairly. Fans know the best team is on the field for them... and the idea of cheating isn't in the back of their mind because they pay their hard earned money to see the best try and beat the best on the other team.

That's their money at work. And when you start to cheat your way to championships and get caught, you screw the fans... you taint the game.

And that's why Alex Cora is a clown... and that's why no Oswalt or Morrison has a leg to stand on... it's just white noise.

CC Sabathia says it best, because when CC speaks, the banging of the drum begins. He is so well respected in baseball and he's not formulating an opinion that tries to defend wrongdoing.  He simply sticks with the fans and their thoughts on the whole thing. ESPN here...

"...as investigations went on...I was like, well, we can't go back and play the games...but as more information started to come out, I'm like, we played a seven-game series in 2017, ALCS, and we lost really on kind of like one pitch.... As everything's been coming out, and the more facts that we get, it's getting frustrating man, to sit here and know that late in my career I could've had a title, maybe '17 or maybe '18, but we got cheated out of a team kind of doing something that's not within the rules of the game."

And that's what it comes down to... RULES.

Cora felt like he was above all of us. But Alex Cora is now the new punching bag.  It's no longer Pete Rose, he did his time. It's no longer Alex Rodriguez, he paid his dues and did his time. It's Alex Cora, the ringleader, the menace, the destroyer of the greatest game in the world and the most selfish bastard ever. The one that thought he could fool everybody.

Rob Manfred needs to do his duty. Sure, the Astros got theirs pretty severely, but now it must fall on Cora.  Ban the man, Mr. Manfred!  Ban him from baseball for life. He cheated the Astros, the Red Sox and the fans... a horrible thing to do to such an incredible game.